1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conventional bedding mattress that is constructed with an inner core of springs, a translucent padding layer, and a mattress cover that comprises a transparent vinyl bottom panel attached to a top portion that also contains translucent padding materials. Collectively, this unique combination of translucent materials provides the mattress with illumination properties, whereby when an underlying source of light is placed below the mattress, the entire mattress, including the cover, becomes illuminated in a decorative manner.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Furniture designers constantly strive to provide new and aesthetically pleasing designs. In this regard, decoratively and/or functionally illuminating all types of furniture and bedding products with external and/or internal lighting sources has been desirous and popular of furniture and bedding manufacturers for years. Therefore, it is well known that many prior art devices, including furniture and bedding, have included external and/or internal lighting sources to either improve the product appearance or to change its functional properties. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,398, a lighting mechanism was incorporated internally into a combination tool box and stand as a means to improve its utility. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,598, a transparent aquarium is disclosed having a single, extended fluorescent bulb extending across the top wall thereof as a means to improve the light dispersion throughout the transparent enclosure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,181 discloses various types of furniture employing the use of light diffusing glass blocks with an interior light source to provide a unique illuminated effect. A table having a light emitting top is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,393. Incorporating the use of lights in bedding furniture has also been very popular. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,290,866, a lighting fixture is provided at the foot end of an ordinary bed on the underside, not to illuminate the mattress, but to provide indirect, low-level lighting of the floor area directly under and alongside the bed, thereby performing a night light function. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,984, an illumination device is secured to the underside head end of a water bed to increase the aesthetic pleasure of sleeping on a waterbed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,437, issued to the present inventor, an improved water bed illumination system is disclosed whereby the waterbed frame incorporates an internal light source that upwardly illuminates light through bore holes in the membrane supporting wall, as well as through ports incorporated into the side rails of the frame. The end result is an illuminated water bed membrane and side frame that is very aesthetically pleasing and unique. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,066 a unique type of sun bathing bed made from a transparent cloth for supporting the user, incorporates a series of ultraviolet lights on the underside of the cloth to allow a user to enjoy a sweat-free, sun tanning experience. Other prior art disclosures in the bedding field were designed to improve the functionality of the bed, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,169, which teaches the incorporation of fluorescent lights at the tops of the four bed post, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,642, which discloses a hospital bed that incorporates a weight-detecting sensor within the mattress to automatically turn on an underside nightlight.
Heretofore, none of the prior art disclosures address the concept of trying to illuminate a conventional bedding mattress because one of the greatest limitations associated with such mattresses is that the components comprising the mattress are not transparent. Therefore, they do not lend themselves to being illuminated by a light source like a water bed bladder membrane, which is generally made from a transparent, elastomeric material.
With that in mind, it would be ideal to overcome the shortfalls mentioned above by providing a unique conventional bed mattress construction and method for manufacturing the same, whereby a light source provided on the underside of the bed would illuminate upwardly through each of the components comprising the mattress so that an illuminated and aesthetically pleasing conventional mattress is accomplished.